The Song of Solomon

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- Chapter 8 -

Bride to Groom: Who will give you to me as my brother, feeding from the breasts of my mother, so that I may discover you outside, and may kiss you, and so that now no one may despise me?(a)

I will take hold of you and lead you into my mother’s house. There you will teach me, and I will give you a cup of spiced wine, and of new wine from my pomegranates.(b)

His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me.(c)

(d)

Groom to Chorus: I bind you by oath, O daughters of Jerusalem, not to disturb or awaken the beloved, until she wills.(e)

Chorus to Groom: Who is she, who ascends from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved?(f)

(g)

If only we could be undisturbed!

Groom to Bride: Under the apple tree, I awakened you. There your mother was corrupted. There she who bore you was violated.(h)

Set me like a seal upon your heart, like a seal upon your arm. For love is strong, like death, and envy is enduring, like hell: their lamps are made of fire and flames.(i)

Easy to conquer?

A multitude of waters cannot extinguish love, nor can a river overwhelm it. If a man were to give all the substance of his house in exchange for love, he would despise it as nothing.(j)

(k)

Chorus: Our sister is little and has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister on the day when she is called upon?(l)

If she is a wall, let us build a rampart of silver upon it. If she is a door, let us join it together with boards of cedar.(m)

Richer than Solomon

Bride to Chorus: I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers, since, in his presence, I have become like one who has discovered peace.(n)

The peaceful one had a vineyard, in that which held the peoples. He handed it on to the caretakers; a man brought, in exchange for its fruit, a thousand pieces of silver.(o)

Call only me

Groom: My vineyard is before me. The thousand is for your peacefulness, and two hundred is for those who care for its fruit.(p)

Bride to Groom: Your friends are attentive to those who have been dwelling in the gardens. Cause me to heed your voice.(q) Flee away, my beloved, and become like the doe and the young stag upon the mountains of aromatic plants.(r)

Footnotes

(a)8:1 The bride began not knowing the groom. Then she meditated on his exterior and interior qualities, reaching a better understanding of him. She became closer and closer to the groom, until now, finally, she is as close to him as two members of the same family. +The faithful move closer and closer to Christ, through the Church, until they realize that they are siblings of Christ, members of the same close-knit family.(Conte)

(b)8:2 The closeness of the bride and groom as reached the point where they can now live in the same house, as members of the same family. The bride is taught by the groom, who has the wisdom of Solomon. +The Church is taught by Christ, even now that the Church has become even closer to Christ than ever before, the Church learns new truths from Christ.(Conte)

(c)8:3 The groom continues to love the bride, even as their love reaches new depths. +Christ continues to support the head of the Church (the Pope with the Bishops) and He continues to embrace all the faithful, from the greatest to the least.(Conte)

(d)8:3 His left hand, etc:Words of the church to Christ. His left hand, signifying the Old Testament, and his right hand, the New.(Challoner)

(e)8:4 The groom again tells the maidens to respect the will of the bride. +Christ tells those maturing in faith to respect the will of the Church.(Conte)

(f)8:5 Although the maidens continue to question the groom about his bride, their questions show an increased understanding of the bride. (Verses 5 and 6 in the CPDV are together verse 5 in the Latin; it was split into two verses because there are two different speakers.) +Although those maturing in faith continue to question Christ about His Church, their questions show an increased understanding of the Church.(Conte)

(g)8:5 Who is this, etc:The angels with admiration behold the Gentiles converted to the faith: coming up from the desert, that is, coming from heathenism and false worship: flowing with delights, that is, abounding with good works which are pleasing to God: leaning on her beloved, on the promise of Christ to his Church, that the gates of hell should not prevail against it; and supported by his grace conferred by the sacraments. Under the apple tree I raised you up; that is, that Christ redeemed the Gentiles at the foot of the cross, where the synagogue of the Jews (the mother church) was corrupted by their denying him, and crucifying him.(Challoner)

(h)8:6 The groom notes that the bride’s mother went astray from faithfulness to her husband under an apple tree, and that the bride was awakened in that same place. He is concerned that his bride will go astray like her mother. So he continues with the next verse. +Christ reminds the Church that the Israelites of the Jewish faith (which gave birth to the Christian faith) went astray from faithfulness to God. He points out that the Church has the same tendencies as the ancient Israelites (for she was awakened under the same tree).(Conte)

(i)8:7 The previous sentence gives us the context, that of the groom’s concern for his bride’s faithfulness, lest she go astray. The groom is concerned that is bride may go astray because of worldly love for another, or by imitating other persons out of envy. This proverb-like expression is comparing ‘dilectio’ to death, so it cannot refer to the love between the groom and bride. Envy of other leads to imitating them, which can lead to Hell. +Christ is concerned that the faithful of His Church not go astray through seeking the pleasures of this world, or through imitating the examples given in sinful secular society.(Conte)

(j)8:8 A man who gives up everything for love counts all that he gave up as if it were nothing. +A man who gives up everything for the love of God counts all that he gave up as if it were nothing.(Conte)

(k)8:8 Our sister is little, etc:Mystically signifies the Jews, who are to be spoken to: that is, converted towards the end of the world: and then shall become a wall, that is, a part of the building, the church of Christ.(Challoner)

(l)8:9 Now some members of the chorus of maidens are nearly ready to be married. They are maturing by learning from the groom and bride. But they are not yet fully mature. +Now some of those who were immature in the Faith are nearly ready to become full members of the Church. But their growth is not yet complete.(Conte)

(m)8:10 The sister that the maidens are speaking of is not the bride, but the next of the maidens who is to be married in the near future. The maidens want to help her to be like the bride. They want to improve her, for her groom. +Those who are maturing in the Faith are concerned for one another, to help one another to reach full maturity in Faith so as to become a part of the Church, the Bride of Christ. They want to improve one another’s faith, so that each will be ready to be united in love with Christ.(Conte)

(n)8:11 The bride tells the maidens about her own experience of becoming ready for marriage. The statements that she is already a wall and her breasts are like towers mean that she is mature and ready for marriage. She tells the maidens how she became fully ready for marriage to the groom: by discovering peace in his presence. +The Church is mature in the Faith; the Church tells those still maturing in the Faith how She herself matured in the Faith: by discovering peace in the presence of Christ (particularly in His Presence in the Eucharist).(Conte)

(o)8:12 This translation is similar to the original Douai translation of the text. The bride is saying that she discovered peace in the presence of the groom. So the peaceful one is the groom, Solomon. The vineyard is located in that place which held an abundant number of different peoples. This phrasing in Hebrew is possibly the name of a region, so named because of the abundance of different peoples. +The peaceful one is Christ. His vineyard is the Church, which is located on earth, a place which holds many peoples. The caretakers are the succession of Popes and Bishops who rule the Church. The fruit of the Church is more valuable than that of any other vineyard. The peacefulness of Christ yields much fruit.(Conte)

(p)8:13 Now the groom has returned to his vineyard. The fruit of its peacefulness is valuable, and those who cared for it were faithful. The Christ will return to His vineyard on earth. Then there will be over a thousand years of peacefulness on earth, during which time the Church will continue to care for God’s people. (Perhaps the total time of peace on earth will be approx. 1200 years: the thousand for peace, plus the two hundred for the keepers of the vineyard.) But Christ does not reign in person during this time of peace.(Conte)

(q)8:14 The subject, ‘Quae,’ is accusative plural feminine and the verb, ‘habitas,’ is the accusative plural feminine of the perfect passive participle, so the phrase ‘quae habitas in hortis’ is the object of the verb. The verb ‘auscultant’ takes an accusative object, not a dative one, despite the English phrasing of ‘listen to’ or ‘be attentive to.’ The groom’s friends (masculine plural, so these are the groom’s friends) are attentive to those maidens who have been spending time in the gardens. This is the bride speaking because she is commenting on what the groom said in the previous verse. +After the Return of Christ, the Church will dwell amid gardens, and the friends of Christ, the Blessed in Heaven, will be attentive to the Church on earth. The Church asks Christ to cause Her to heed his voice, and as a result, God’s will is done on earth as in Heaven.(Conte)

(r)8:15 The bride asks him to leave again, for now, knowing that they will soon enough be united forever. +Christ establishes His kingdom on earth, then He ascends to Heaven again, leaving the whole world in the keeping of the Church, which is now fully mature and which now fills the whole world.(Conte)

Oh that you were like my brother, who nursed from the breasts of my mother! If I found you outside, I would kiss you; yes, and no one would despise me.

I would lead you, bringing you into the house of my mother, who would instruct me. I would have you drink spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranate.

His left hand would be under my head. His right hand would embrace me.

I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up, nor awaken love, until it so desires.

Who is this who comes up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved?

If only we could be undisturbed!

(5) Under the apple tree I awakened you. There your mother conceived you. There she was in labor and bore you. (6) Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; for love is strong as death. Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol.(a) Its flashes are flashes of fire, a very flame of the LORD.(b)

Many waters can’t quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man would give all the wealth of his house for love, he would be utterly scorned.

Easy to conquer?

We have a little sister. She has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister in the day when she is to be spoken for?

If she is a wall, we will build on her a turret of silver. If she is a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar.

I am a wall, and my breasts like towers, then I was in his eyes like one who found peace.

Richer than Solomon

Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon. He leased out the vineyard to keepers. Each was to bring a thousand shekels

(c)

of silver for its fruit.

My own vineyard is before me. The thousand are for you, Solomon, two hundred for those who tend its fruit.

Call only me

You who dwell in the gardens, with friends in attendance, let me hear your voice!

Come away, my beloved! Be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices!

Footnotes

(a)8:6 Sheol is the place of the dead.

(b)8:6 When rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, “LORD” or “GOD” is the translation of God’s Proper Name